If you don’t remember, it’s okay. You can revisit it right here. Although it was just last week, so you really should have a slightly better memory. ;)

So…now what? I told you I planned on a re-refashion of this one, and now you get to see it!

To get started, I picked off those sleeves with my seam ripper.

Pick…Pick…Pick…etc.

I couldn’t very well leave those raw edges as-is, so I pinned them under, then stitched ’em up!

Pinned!Stitchin’!

I knew I needed to resize this one, so on my dress form it went!

Heh…Seems alright.

And THIS is when I did something stupid. I pinned one side and guesstimated that the same amount would come off the other side by just gathering and holding the fabric, rather than pinning the opposite side as well. My reason for this was that I didn’t want to have to take the time to unpin the opposite side to get the dress off my form and then repin it again. Lazy. Lazy. Lazy!

I pinned both sides, assuming my dumb guesstimation was correct.

Hey buddy…doncha think you’re taking in a bit much there?

Then, I stitched up both sides like a total moron. :/

Gee, Jillian. Does that really look right to you?

After cutting off the excess material, I tried my dress on. And it wouldn’t even fit over my hips! And all because I didn’t measure properly. :( Lesson learned!

Undaunted, I decided to just make this dress a top instead!

LOL…What was I thinking?

I added a hem to that bottom edge…

The final Whirrrrr!

After a quick press, I was all done! :)

It’s not a dress, but tops are okay too!

My mistake ended up working in my favor, as I ended up spending my day at a friend’s hop farm in the middle of nowhere!

Just follow the dirt road…Are we there yet?Partners in crime!Oh deer.

Before this trip, I had no idea how hops actually grew…BEHOLD! :)

HOPS!Lots ‘n lots of hops!Up close & personal!

I even helped out by picking a few!

It’s dangerous work, folks!My lovely lady hops…Check ’em out!

Of course, I wasn’t alone in my hop harvesting adventure! :)

Happy Hop Harvesters!A lovely day for a picnic! :)

So…what did we DO with all of those hops?

Why…we made beer! :D

This is a beer making thing!Brew, baby, brew!The hops are in that white pipe thingy!

As the sky darkened, it was time to head home…

Ah! Just another evening on the farm!Such a lovely farm!

So far I’ve managed to get two refashions out of this $1 muumuu! I wonder what I can make with that bottom scrap? :)

This is exactly why I want to start my refashioning adventure with thrift store finds instead of items I paid full price for. Then I can mess up as much as I want without worry! Your top still looks lovely. :)

I like the tank top, I would make it longer, but you have a perfectly small frame for a shirt like that! I can’t wait to see if I might win the sewing machine! I am following you and sharing the giveaway, so I really hope I can get it!! Again love the top!

Great rework of an oops work! Looks like you had a great day out in the hops field …that could have been because of the beer …or the company … or both ;c)

Just a quick thought … you might want to take out the side seams of the too tight skirt and add panels from the material left over from the cutdown sides to make a cute little flippy A-line skirt. You could even add triangles from the salvaged sleeve material to make the hem even more flippy and full. Pair it with the matching top and …well, maybe a leather belt to keep it being totally girly-girl …or go with ribbon, and be totally girly-girl. (Hey, why not ;c) If you tossed a super light shrug on top of it … you could even wear it to work.

With such light material, it would be nice and cool and perfect for dancin’ …of course that would mean that your friendly corset lacer and photo lurker would have to take you out and twirl you around the dance floor.

I love that neckline!
Can’t tell you how many times I’ve “trusted” my guesstimations and have been so off that I just scrapped the whole project.
I just finished a refashion this morning also and I love looking at others for inspiration.

I love the top, and love, love, love your blog!
I would also love to see what you do with the bottom piece. As someone who is, ahem, closer in size to the national average, my problem usually is not that a piece is too large, but too small. I’d love some ideas for taking a smaller piece and refashioning it to fit a larger body. Thanks!

Hey I love your blog! You have rekindled the romance between me and my sewing machine. I wanted to give you a tip I recently figured out. if you want to sew from scratch look through the bed sheets at the thrift shops, top or flat sheets are usually in great condition and are a steal at $1-$4 depending on size and if its a half off day. I found a blue and white gingham twin sheet for $1 this week. I plan on making a Dorothy costume with it.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who makes that mistake! (I’ve made that mistake quite a lot too! You’d think I’d learn from my mistakes! I like to think I’m thinner than I am apparently!)
It worked out in your favor because it’s a very flattering top on you and you still have enough material leftover for a future refashion, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
~Jenhttp://diaryofamadmama.wordpress.com